New Baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera Confesses He Doesn’t Like Metallica

Former New York Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera was confirmed today as a member of the next induction class at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. His entrance music during home games was Metallica's "Enter Sandman" but, as he said in a new interview, Rivera is actually not a fan of the group.

He was interviewed on MLB Network about the honor, and Rivera was presented with a video from the group. “We, Metallica, took a vote here, and it’s unanimous," James Hetfield said, acknowledging that Rivera made history by becoming the first player to be elected unanimously into the Hall, appearing on all 425 ballots cast. "Congratulations from the entire Metallica family, Mariano, on your induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.”

Metallica showed up to play "Enter Sandman" during the pre-game ceremony at one of his last home games in 2013 – which, coincidentally, was against Metallica's hometown team, the San Francisco Giants. They presented Rivera with a giant autographed speaker with his uniform number, 42, the band's name and "Sandman" on the front. Rivera remembered the moment after seeing the video.

"I have so much respect for those guys. I met them and they are great, great people," he said. "Being there for me at the moment that I retired, it was amazing."

But, as the New York Post reported, Rivera was asked how many of Metallica's shows he'd attended. Rivera laughed and said, “With all due respect to the guys, I’ve never been to one of them. As a Christian, with all due respect to Metallica, I don’t listen to that kind of music.”